Galleria Colonna, Rome

Nino Gualdoni / Flickr

Galleria Colonna, 66 Piazza SS. Apostoli, 06-678-4350, http://www.galleriacolonna.it, houses the mostly Baroque art and memorabilia of one of Rome's grandest aristocratic families, the Colonna, whose single-column emblem appears on stone crests throughout the city. The gallery is in the southeast corner of the family palazzo, begun around 1300 by Giordano Colonna (brother of Oddone, later Pope Martin V) and inhabited since then by 23 generations of Colonnas. To prepare, read Anthony Majanlahti's marvelous "The Families Who Made Rome: A History and a Guide." Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays only. -- Susan Spano Read more: Secrets of Rome revealed

Galleria Colonna, 66 Piazza SS. Apostoli, 06-678-4350, http://www.galleriacolonna.it, houses the mostly Baroque art and memorabilia of one of Rome's grandest aristocratic families, the Colonna, whose single-column emblem appears on stone crests throughout the city. The gallery is in the southeast corner of the family palazzo, begun around 1300 by Giordano Colonna (brother of Oddone, later Pope Martin V) and inhabited since then by 23 generations of Colonnas. To prepare, read Anthony Majanlahti's marvelous "The Families Who Made Rome: A History and a Guide." Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays only. -- Susan Spano Read more: Secrets of Rome revealed (Nino Gualdoni / Flickr)

Galleria Colonna, 66 Piazza SS. Apostoli, 06-678-4350, http://www.galleriacolonna.it, houses the mostly Baroque art and memorabilia of one of Rome's grandest aristocratic families, the Colonna, whose single-column emblem appears on stone crests throughout the city. The gallery is in the southeast corner of the family palazzo, begun around 1300 by Giordano Colonna (brother of Oddone, later Pope Martin V) and inhabited since then by 23 generations of Colonnas. To prepare, read Anthony Majanlahti's marvelous "The Families Who Made Rome: A History and a Guide." Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays only. -- Susan Spano Read more: Secrets of Rome revealed